The new Destiny 2: Shadowkeep cinematic trailer released at Gamescom for the game’s Season of the Undying may look familiar to fans because at least a portion of the cinematic is two years old. That trailer leaked back in February 2017, and it is completely identical to the first part of the new trailer for Shadowkeep.
The original version of this cinematic leaked back before Destiny 2 was even announced. Back then, months before the reveal of the sequel, many thought that this cinematic was likely something made for the upcoming Destiny 2 or possibly originally made in connection with a canceled Vex-themed expansion for Destiny 1. The cinematic was originally found as part of a demo reel for Prologue Films, a California-based company that created a number of cutscenes for Destiny 1 including intro cinematics for the original Destiny campaign, House of Wolves, and The Taken King.
When Game Rant reported the leak of this cinematic in 2017, shortly after the story was published, Prologue Films requested that the video be removed from the story. Prologue still lists Destiny in its portfolio on its website but has not updated it to include Destiny 2, so it is unclear if the company finished the cinematic two years later for this new expanded version of the cinematic for Season of the Undying or if the cinematic was completed back in 2017 and Bungie is just now utilizing it (albeit the voiceover is most likely completely new if that was the case).
There are pieces of the cinematic that also tie it to Destiny 2’s Io destination, specifically architecture that looks like the Pyramidion located on that planet in-game. This cinematic is interestingly filled with tidbits that look like they may have been scrapped or rearranged and resurrected for use in the game’s Shadowkeep expansion.
If it seems like a surprise that the Vex are playing so heavily into Shadowkeep, which has been heavily promoted featuring the Hive as the main antagonistic force, Bungie previously revealed that the expansion’s accompanying Season of the Undying is very Vex-centric. In fact, the Garden of Salvation raid that releases this October takes place in the Black Garden, which is the location in which this cinematic takes place.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep releases October 1, 2019, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Stadia version also in development.